The Truman women’s basketball team continues to move through its non-conference slate and will kick off a pair of contests against local rivals this week with a 75-mile trip to Quincy (Ill.) University on Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m.

The Bulldogs (2-1) are coming off a 1-1 weekend at the Southwest Minnesota State Classic, while the Lady Hawks (3-0) won their own Tipoff Classic last weekend with back-to-back wins. QU defeated MIAA-foe Southwest Baptist, 71-59, in the championship game on Saturday.

Broadcast Info:

Chad Speakar and Tyler Madsen will call the action on Tuesday night from Pepsi Arena in Quincy, Ill., on 99.9 FM KIRK (Moberly, Mo.).

Fans can also listen online by visiting www.centralmoinfo.com and clicking on the “Local Sports Broadcasts” link in the upper left part of the page. From there, click on the “Energy 99” button to catch the Bulldogs in action.

A video Webcast will be available for a small fee through http://b2tv.com. 

Meet the Coaches:

Michael Smith is in his second season as the head coach of the Bulldog basketball program following stints at Arkansas-Little Rock (assistant coach), Moberly Area Community College (head coach) and Angelo State (assistant coach). As a head coach at the Div. II level, he has a 10-20 career record, all accumulated at Truman.

He is assisted by Taira Roth, who is also in her second season at Truman after spending one season at Lake Superior (Mich.) State as an assistant. Roth is no stranger to the MIAA, as she played at Missouri Western from 2001-2004 and was a graduate assistant at Central Missouri from 2004-2006.

J.D. Gravina is the head coach at QU and is in his third season with the program. He has a 50-15 record with the Lady Hawks and guided the squad to the GLVC regular season championship last season.

Series Info:

Quincy and Truman have a long-standing nonconference rivalry, as the two squads have met 37 times with QU holding a 21-16 advantage entering this year’s matchup. The Lady Hawks have widened the gap in recent years, having won the past four meetings after Truman beat QU, 60-40, in Kirksville on Dec. 2, 2004.

The last Bulldog win in Pepsi Arena came in the 2000-2001 season, when Jennifer Fisher paced the Bulldogs with 10 points and 11 rebounds in the second game of the season on Nov. 18, 2000.

Last Time vs. Quincy:

Nov. 19, 2008: Quincy 76, Truman 58

(KIRKSVILLE) - Georgia Mueller reached the 1,500 point mark for her career, and Laura Joya added nine points and 11 rebounds, but Quincy used five players in double-figures to sprint past the Bulldog women’s basketball team 76-58 Wednesday night in Pershing Arena.

Truman (0-3) was within four at 20-16 after a Malorie Kiecker jumper with 10:52 to play in the first half, but the Bulldogs went cold from the field – scoring just five points in nearly seven and a half minutes to allow QU to build up what would prove to be an insurmountable lead at 36-21 with three minutes to play in the opening frame.

The Bulldogs would cut it to nine out of the gate in the second half, but Quincy never let Truman creep any closer, holding on for the 76-58 final margin.

Mueller finished with a game-high 14 points, while Kiecker added ten. The Bulldogs shot 35% from the field for the contest and held the Lady Hawks (3-0) to just 36%. QU outrebounded Truman 51-42 and forced 17 turnovers.

Joya Up for MIAA Player of the Week:

Senior guard Laura Joya (Wheeling, Ill.) is Truman’s nominee for MIAA women’s basketball player of the week for play ranging back to the start of this season.

Through the first three games, Joya is the team-leader in points (14.3/gm), field goals made (17), field goal percentage (60.7%), three-pointers made (5) and three-point percentage (55.6%).

She is also averaging 3.7 rebounds per game and has been the team’s scoring leader in two of the first three contests.

Getting a bit “Sharpe”r:

Coach Michael Smith will get an early-season acquisition this week when freshman Megan Sharpe joins the women’s basketball roster.

Sharpe traded in her knee pads for sneakers over the weekend as the two-sport athlete wrapped up the 2009 volleyball season last Thursday following a first-round loss in the NCAA tournament. She was the Bulldogs’ top offensive threat on the volleyball court, picking up MIAA Freshman of the Year honors after averaging three kills per set and hitting nearly .360.

In high school, Sharpe was a second-team all-state selection at the 3A/4A level in Illinois after averaging 15 points and shooting better than 60% from the field at Edwardsville (Ill.) HS.

She is the third volleyball player in the past two seasons to pick up basketball, as Eli Medina made the switch immediately after the conclusion of volleyball season last year, while current squad-member Kristen Nissen changed strictly to basketball prior to the start of the 2009 academic year.

Conference Season Approaches:

The MIAA will once again start its regular season schedule at the turn of the monthly calendar, as 10 of the 11 teams will kick off conference play on Wed., Dec. 2. The Bulldogs open with a long trip to Joplin to face Missouri Southern before returning home on Sat., Dec. 5 for a battle with Pittsburg State.

Clutch at the Stripe:

Though the season is just three games in, the Bulldogs have been nearly lights-out at the free throw line late in ballgames. After connecting at 72.3% (34-for-47) throughout the whole game, Truman has turned it up in the final five minutes of games this season by hitting 94.5% (17-for-18) of its charity stripe chances.

Upping the Treys:

Through three games this season, the Bulldogs have connected 16 times from long-range, an average of 5.3 per game. Last season, the Bulldogs didn’t hit their 16th three-pointer until game No. 6 - the MIAA opener.

The ’Dogs have also been stingy around the arc, holding teams to just a 22% (13-for-57) clip from three-point range.

Courtesy Truman State University

Up Next:

The Bulldogs will wrap up the early portion of non-conference action by hosting future MIAA-foe Lincoln (Mo.) on Saturday evening in Pershing Arena. Tip-off against the Blue Tigers is set for 5:30 p.m. and will be followed by the Truman men’s basketball team taking on Hannibal-LaGrange at 7:30 p.m.

Courtesy Truman State University